ABSTRACT
Supporters of Laetrile have sought to expand the controversy by attacking the philosophical assumptions of modern medicine and positing an alternate system of holistic medicine. The historical roots of the Laetrile movement seem to be distinct from holism or orthomolecular medicine. The new sensitivity toward, and popularity of, holistic and orthomolecular medicine have certainly served as a strategic resource to the Laetrile movement. Laetrile advocates have attacked the animal studies both theoretically, from a holistic position, and methodologically, from an empirical stance. Pro-Laetrile magazines often paraphrase cancer statistics and official disagreements over treatment. One way of viewing the Laetrile phenomenon is that it is a response to the clinical and social nature of cancer. In fact, the medical self-help movement may be closely linked to a more general social movement by outsiders and consumers. Proponents of Laetrile have countered by expanding the conflict into a broad-based social movement.
